Gardening indoors gives you complete control over your environment and conditions - nothing is left up to chance or Mother Nature. There is always an answer to a negative outdoor condition: air conditioners and heaters to combat unfavorable temperatures, humidifiers and dehumidifiers to control humidity, lights to eliminate cloudy days, timers to control the lights for specific photo periods, etc. That said, there's no denying that the conditions outdoors definitely affect what we need to do indoors to create the perfect environment. Growing indoors in the summer has many challenges, hopefully these tips will help you avoid having to deal with them.

- Air conditioning. A must. You cannot have a successful summer growing season indoors in the tri-state area without it. A lot of the most common fruits, vegetables and herbs require growing temperatures of no higher than 80 degrees fahrenheit. Enriching the environment with CO2 allows plants to take slightly higher temperatures, but it should still never exceed 90 degrees. Using HID lights, with outdoor temperatures in the 80's, 90's and sometimes 100's, the ideal temperatures are pretty much impossible to maintain without air conditioning. If you already have an air conditioner, make sure it's in proper working order before the summer starts. You don't want to be taken by surprise on that first hot day and have your plants suffer.

Ideal-Air Mini-Split Air Conditioners

Do-it-yourself installation. Ideal-Air mini-split A/C's come with a 23' pre-charged line set so you just install it, connect it and you're ready to go.

Active Air 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

For smaller indoor gardens without CO2 enrichment, portable A/C's can be an easy solution to your heat issues.

Excel Air Systems Air Conditioners

Excel Air Systems air conditioners are also for DIY-installation, no HVAC technician needed. These range from 2-5 tons so they're great for medium-large gardens.

- Have a hygro-thermometer in each room that records the minimum and maximum temperature and humidity readings. That way if a piece of equipment is not operating properly and causes a change in your environment, you can catch it as soon as possible even if you're not there when it happens. We recommend hygro-thermometers that come with an external sensor so you can monitor the temperatures in two rooms at once, like this one from Grower's Edge. Autopilot makes one that measures the temperature, humidity and CO2, and also records the readings (and stores them for up to 7 days), so you know exactly WHEN things changed (which can be very helpful when trying to diagnose a problem).

Grower's Edge Hygro-Thermometer

A good hygro-thermometer that records the high and low temperature and humidity readings of your garden is so important. It's the only way you'll know what's going on when you're not there.

Autopilot Desktop CO2 Monitor and Data Logger

This great piece of equipment from Autopilot records and charts all of the important information from your garden: temperature, humidity, CO2 levels. Information can be stored for up to 7 days.

- Water temperature is very important in hydroponic gardening. The perfect water temperature range is 65-68 degrees. Low 70's can be ok, but once it climbs above 72-73 you run the risk of harmful bacteria, fungi and pathogens breeding and infecting your root zones. High water temperatures are the main cause of root rot, and unfortunately sometimes once you get it, there's no getting rid of it. If you're having a hard time controlling your water temps, seriously think about investing in a water chiller. They aren't the cheapest pieces of equipment but sometimes they're the only answer in successful hydroponic gardening (especially in the summer). You can also use products like food-grade H2O2, Botanicare's Hydroguard and Canna's Rhizotonic to help prevent disease, just be careful when using H2O2 because it will kill any beneficial bacteria and fungi you may be adding to your nutrient solutions.

EcoPlus Commercial Chiller

1/2, 1 and 1 1/2 HP chillers with commercial-grade titanium heat exchangers and Japanese compressors for reliability and efficiency.

- During heatwaves, electric companies sometimes reduce voltage to help lessen the strain on their power systems. When this happens, you're not getting your full power input. High wattage lights may not get their full "juice" so they will work harder to power up, which can damage the ballasts and/or bulbs. They can also be damaged when the power jolts back to its full potential, which is why surge protectors are so important. You may even lose partial power (some of your lights may work while others don't). If this happens, don't panic. Wait until the heatwave passes and then test your equipment once voltage is fully restored.

Surge Protector

You should always protect your equipment from power surges, but especially during the summer when heatwaves can really affect your electricity.

Surge Protector

This is a heavy duty surge protector for your electrical panel - protects against surges of up to 100,000 amps.

- Air-cool your lights. By creating a sealed line, where cool air is being pulled from an unused room with an in-line fan, through your lights via ducting, then out of the room (either into another room or directly outside), you can bring down your room temperatures considerably (typically 5-10 degrees). This will ease the load on your air conditioner and help lower your cooling costs, since fans use less electricity than A/C's. The sealed line is important because you don't want to waste the cool air from the A/C that you're already putting into your room by exhausting THAT air through the lights, or waste your CO2 if you're using it.

Air-Cool Your Reflectors

Save energy and money by using fans to cool your reflectors, which will cut down on how hard your air conditioner has to work.

- New lighting technology is constantly being developed to solve problems of heat. LED lights have always been criticized for their low intensity, lack of yield-production and high prices, but now CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide)/LEC (Light Emitting Ceramic) lights are available. 315W CMH lights are comparable to 600W High Pressure Sodium lights (they cover a 3'x3' area and produce comparable yields), but use almost half the electricity and, due to increased UV output, produce plants of excellent quality. If you're currently using HPS and don't know how you'll control your temperatures over the summer, definitely look into CMH's.

Phantom 315W CMH

Phantom 315W Ceramic Metal Halide lights have a remote ballast which you can keep outside your room or grow tent to keep your space even cooler.

Mogul CMH adapter

Adapt any reflector with a mogul socket to be able to accept CMH lamps. Use your current reflectors and just buy new bulbs and ballasts.

Sunlight Supply LEC 315

Sunlight Supply's 315W LEC has the ballast built in to the reflector so you don't have to worry about extra cords and wires. Plug and play!

Sunlight Supply Air-Cooled 630 LEC

Sunlight Supply's 630W LEC is 2 315W's in one for more intensity and a wider coverage area, plus the hood has 6" flanges which allow it to be air-cooled.

- Most people opt for CO2 enrichment over bringing in fresh air during the summer months, due to the fact that the fresh air you'll be bringing in is probably hotter than the room itself (and CO2 helps plants combat the heat). However, if you must, (and this goes for all times of the year, not just the summer) make sure to protect your garden by using an intake filter! Bugs and molds are alive and well outdoors. The last thing you want to do is bring them in to your sterile environment where they can (and will) thrive. If you're in the city, don't think you're immune. They're everywhere.

CAN Intake Filter

Installing an intake filter is a cheap and easy way to avoid having a problem later on. ALWAYS use one when bringing air from outside into your indoor garden.

- CO2 enrichment allows plants to be able to withstand higher temperatures of about ten degrees. Since CO2 burners create heat, most indoor gardeners opt for CO2 tanks and regulators in the summer. Proper CO2 enrichment can also lead to 20-25% increases in production, so it is a win/win.

20 lb. CO2 tank and Titan Controls Regulator kit

Titan Controls' CO2 regulator kit has everything you need to enrich your environment with CO2. Plus we sell 20 lb. tanks and refills in the shop.

- If it's an option for you, scale back. Even when you have the required equipment, running it all can be expensive. If you go full bore all year long and you don't feel like fighting the heat, cut back. Use half of your growing space during the height of the summer. You'll save money on cooling costs and give yourself a little break. You worked hard on your garden all year, you deserve it!

We received our first 2017 seed delivery last week (as always, from High Mowing Organic Seeds and, as always, 100% organic and non-GMO), so of course we had to make our annual blog post outlining our picks for this season. Check out the slideshow below for some of our favorites:

Indigo Rose Tomato

Semi-Determinate, 75-80 days. Black tomatoes with purple-tinged leaves. These were bred by Dr. Jim Myers at Oregon State University for high flavonoids and when allowed to fully ripen, the flavor and aroma are super complex.

Freckles Lettuce

Heirloom, 28 days baby / 55 days full size. Unusually bright green romaine with red speckles make this lettuce interesting looking, but it also has great flavor. Heat tolerant.

Georgia Collards

Heirloom (dating back to earlier than 1880), 70 days. Tender greens with short internodes, these produce heavy, reliable yields and are very heat tolerant. Mild flavor, great for sautéing.

Outredgeous Lettuce

30 days baby, 55 days full size. Eye catching SUPER BRIGHT RED/magenta romaine. Nice as a full head but very popular as a baby leaf variety.

Copia Tomato

Indeterminate, 85 days. A standing favorite of ours due to its large fruit and cool colors: yellow with swirls of pinkish red.

Fordhook Giant Chard

Heirloom, 25 days baby / 50 full size. Anyone who has ever sautéd chard knows that what looks like a lot turns into very little in the pan. Fordhook Giant Chard will hopefully make up for that fact with its large leaves and heavy yields.

Pacific Beauty Calendula Blend

Heirloom, 60 days. An early-blooming mix of orange, gold, yellow and cream flowers. They prefer cooler temperatures but will continue blooming all summer. Nice for cut flowers but petals are great in salads, too.

We also have a whole bunch of seeds from last year that were just marked down to 50% off.

If that's not enough planting inspiration, click here for High Mowing's staff picks.

The almanac says the last frost is going to be early this year (April 1st-18th for the NY Metro area) so you want to get your fruiting plant (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.) and flower seeds started pretty much NOW. Stop in for seeds and supplies!